Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529159
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 16, 2024 13 55 Years Ago: Nov. 17, 1969 Two days after a 38-20 victory at Georgia Tech, 7-1-1 and No. 9-ranked Notre Dame ended a 45-year ban on bowl games by accepting an invitation to the Cot- ton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1970. Its opponent would be the winner of the Dec. 6 show- down between unbeaten Southwest Conference teams Texas and Arkansas. There were only 10 bowls at the time and they had been fairly irrelevant because the national title had been voted on at the end of the regular season. Hence, Notre Dame did not feel compelled to go to bowls in the past. But in 1968, the Associated Press decided to take its final vote after bowl games. The Irish players were given a vote and selected the Cotton over the Sugar, which would have No. 13-ranked Ole Miss, quarterbacked by Archie Man- ning, as the SEC representative. The chance to play a top-ranked team was the appeal with the Cotton. 35 Years Ago: Nov. 18, 1989 The No. 1-ranked Fighting Irish extended their school-record winning streak to 23 with a 34-23 victory at Penn State. In the process, they rushed for 425 yards — the most ever surrendered by a Nittany Lions team. Quarterback Tony Rice headlined the ground assault with 141 yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries. Pennsylvania natives Ricky Watters and Raghib "Rocket" Ismail added 128 and 84 yards rushing, respectively, on 16 and 9 carries. Especially notable is Penn State had allowed only 9.2 points per game. "I didn't expect to run for that many yards even if this had been a mara- thon," Irish head coach Lou Holtz said afterwards. 30 Years Ago: Nov. 19, 1994 Behind the stellar play of junior wide receiver Derrick Mayes, Notre Dame raced out to a 35-3 lead early in the third quarter and held on for a 42-30 victory over Air Force in South Bend. Mayes' connection with freshman quarterback Ron Powlus was on full display all afternoon with 8 receptions for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. The two scores brought his season total to 11, breaking Jack Snow's single-season school record that had stood for three decades. "I just feel honored to be up there with Jack Snow, Tim Brown, [Rocket] Ismail and Lake Dawson," Mayes said after the game. "Hopefully someone will feel the same way about me when it's time for my record to come down." 25 Years Ago: Nov. 20, 1999 No. 25 Boston College handed Notre Dame its third straight defeat, 31-29, dropping the Irish to 5-6 and making them bowl ineligible for the first time in 13 years. "I think we're beat up emotionally more than anything," Irish quarterback Jarious Jackson said after the game. "It hurts badly. I can't put it into words." Eagles quarterback Tim Hasselbeck threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for another while accounting for 332 yards of total offense (272 passing, 60 rush- ing). Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish could muster only 95 yards on 32 rushing attempts, just more than half of its average of 184 yards entering the contest. 5 Years Ago: Nov. 16, 2019 The No. 16 Irish sunk No. 23 Navy with an overpowering aerial attack en route to an easy 52-20 triumph in South Bend. Senior wide receiver Chase Claypool put together a big day, reeling in 7 receptions for 117 yards and a career-high 4 touchdowns. Claypool's 47-yard touchdown connection with senior quarterback Ian Book in the first quarter set a new career long, and his three first-half touchdown receptions were the most by an Irish player since at least 1950. With four scoring catches, Clay- pool tied the Notre Dame record set by Maurice Stovall against BYU in 2005. Book was also outstanding, and extremely efficient, completing 14 of 20 throws for 284 yards (14.2 yards per attempt) and 5 touchdowns, including a career-long 70-yarder to sophomore wideout Braden Lenzy. With his fourth touchdown pass, Book became the first quarterback in program history to record four games with 4 passing touchdowns in a season. With his fifth, he became the first Irish quarterback with three games of 5 passing touchdowns in a year. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Nov. 16-22 Irish wide receiver Chase Claypool tied the school record with 4 touchdown receptions in a 52-20 win over Navy in 2019. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS